The Glorious Cause Read Free Page B

alliance with America at the expense of her hated rival, and the congress is granted permission to send representatives to Paris to begin negotiations for credit and a possible military alliance. The first to go is Silas Deane, and Franklin follows in late 1776. Though he well understands that France is risking war with England, Franklin is more concerned with the survival of his own nation.
    C HARLES C ORNWALLIS
    Born 1738, in London, England, to an aristocratic family, which affords him the opportunity to attend Eton College. He is a rugged and physically athletic young man but suffers an eye injury that gives him a permanent “droop” to his eyelid, which some confuse with sleepy disinterest. At seventeen, he joins the army, receives a commission as ensign, attends the famed military academy at Turin, Italy. Called into active service, he is engaged in several significant actions during the Seven Years War with France.
    He sails to England in 1760, is elected to Parliament, and receives a promotion to lieutenant colonel. He returns again to the war on the European mainland, continues to demonstrate a skill in the field, and by the end of the war, he once again takes his place in Parliament.
    His father carries the title as first earl Cornwallis, and upon his death in 1762, Charles inherits the title, as second earl. In 1768, he marries Jemima Tullekin Jones, the daughter of a professional soldier. She is a tall, beautiful woman of quiet grace, and he is madly in love. They have two children.
    He continues his service in the army, and though he is not particularly supportive of the king’s policies in America, he is nevertheless a loyal officer. In 1770, he is given the prestigious title of constable of the Tower of London, a post he will maintain for most of his life, though he is rarely there. Promoted to major general in 1775, he sails to America a year later, to rendezvous with Henry Clinton off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. The attempted invasion of that coast is thwarted by the unexpectedly brilliant defenses constructed by William Moultrie, and the British invasion fleet suffers considerable losses. The battle is a severe embarrassment to the British navy and to Henry Clinton, and prevents the British from gaining a foothold in the southern colonies for another four years. Cornwallis has his first taste of the rivalry and bickering between army and navy, and he suffers his first experience as a subordinate to Henry Clinton.
    Withdrawing northward, the British fleet, along with Cornwallis’ infantry, sets sail for Staten Island, where they will join Commanding General William Howe. His mission is as it has always been, to confront and defeat the enemies of his king. As he sails into New York Harbor, he sees an enormous fleet already in place, feels a sharp sense of pride from the impressive show of strength. The British are, after all, the most powerful empire on earth.
    Cornwallis understands the task that awaits them: the elimination of a rebellion against their king by the destruction of their so-called army. He knows little of this man George Washington, knows little about the rebel army itself. When he greets William Howe, he hears the confidence, the boastful talk that this absurd uprising will be put down quickly, that they might all return home by Christmas. By nature a subdued man, Cornwallis does not partake of the boisterous toasting to their certain glorious success. Though Howe seems oblivious, Cornwallis knows that somewhere beyond the show of British might, there are men with muskets who are fighting for a cause.

 
    PART ONE
    Actuated by the Most Glorious Cause that mankind ever fought in, I am determined to defend this post to the very last extremity.
    C OL. R OBERT M AGAW , responding to the British demand for surrender of Fort Washington, New York, November 15, 1776

    GEORGE WASHINGTON
     
    1. THE FISHERMAN
    G RAVESEND B AY, N EW Y ORK, A UGUST 22, 1776
    He had sat out the raw misery